A feature longed for by many Pinterest users has finally arrived, just in time for holiday shopping. The ability to create Secret Boards is now available on the social media site, following an update late Tuesday. The feature is available on the desktop version of the site, as well as the most recent mobile version.
Secret Boards allow users to pin items that they don’t necessarily want to share with the world. This could be anything from gift ideas to behind the scenes party planning efforts. Pins to Secret Boards are only viewable by the creator and any collaborators, and do not appear anywhere else on the site.
To start using Secret Boards, visit the Boards section of your profile page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a new section for Secret Boards.
You can also create a Secret Board by selecting the Add + tab in the menu bar. Select Create A Board. In the board information, switch the Secret tab to “on”.
Once you have created the board, you can start adding pins. For the purposes of testing the new feature, I decided to start making a list of Christmas gifts I need to buy.
*If my family is reading this, these are not your actual gifts, sorry!
In the descriptions of the pins I added who the gift was meant for and whether or not I had made the purchase. This is much easier to maintain than a piece of notebook paper with ideas scratched off as I made purchases, and will be especially helpful if you (like me) plan to do the majority of your holiday shopping online this year.
The limit on Secret Boards begs the question, if I delete a Secret Board or decide to make it public, will I receive a new board to replace it? The answer is yes. After I complete my Christmas shopping for 2012, I can delete my board and start planning ahead for 2013!
Secret Boards could prove to be advantageous for business owners incorporating social media as well. For example, a kitchen design company could use a Secret Board to share design ideas and collaborate with a client without using email. This keeps all of the images in a single location, and eliminates the need to open files every time you need to view a photo.
Secret Boards can also be used within a company to share ideas and inspiration for new products or pitches.
What do you think- will you use Secret Boards in your social media strategies? Let us know in the comments!
